What Type of Avocado Tree to Plant?

by Teri Silver

Avocado fruits are added to salads and dips.

Determine your planting space availability and the kinds of fruits to grow when considering avocado trees for your yard. Avocado trees are thick-foliage evergreens that grow in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 9 to 11. Varieties stem from Mexican, Guatemalan and West Indian species -- some avocado fruits have smooth, leathery skin and others have pebblelike rinds. Fruits grow in small, medium and large sizes.

Avocado Species and Varieties

Avocado species, called “races,” are in three categories: Mexican (Persea americana drymifolia), West Indian (P. americana Mill. var. americana) and Guatemalan (P. americana guatamalensis). Flowers on hybrids are classified as type A or type B, based on when pollen is released and whether flowers open in morning or evening. Depending on climate and variety, Guatemalan avocados typically mature in 12 to 18 months after the tree begins its flowering stage. They may bear fruit in alternating years. Mexican varieties are ready for harvest within six to eight months after flowering. West Indian hybrids growing in lowland tropical climates produce large, round fruits from May through September. Avocado tree type A varieties, such as “Lulu,” “Walden” and “Taylor,” are self-pollinating and can stand alone. Type B hybrids -- “Sharwil," "Stewart" and “Nabal,” for example -- must be planted with or near other type B or type A varieties to cross-pollinate.

Growing Space and Requirements

Avocado tree choice also depends on how much space you have -- choose a location in full sunlight where tree roots and canopies have room to spread. Depending on the variety, trees may grow from 20 to 80 feet tall; some straight up and others spread to form dense canopies. Plant trees about 30 feet from other trees and buildings. Avocado trees are shallow-rooted -- feeder roots live in the top 6 inches of soil -- and prefer well-draining, aerated soil with pH of 6.0 to 6.5. If avocado tree roots are oversaturated, they may develop Phytophthora root rot (Phytophthora sojae), an often-fatal fungal disease.

Fruits and Harvest

Avocado trees produce small, medium and large fruits that, depending on the variety, are ready to harvest in spring, summer, fall and winter. For example, “Hass” (P. americana) avocado trees produce thick, rough-textured fruits with black rinds and pale green flesh. The oval-shaped fruits -- about 5 to 12 inches long -- are ready to pick from spring into fall. “Pinkerton” avocados are long and pear-shaped. They have dark green, pebble-textured rinds and pale green flesh with small seeds. "Pinkerton" avocados are ready to pick in winter and spring, in USDA zones 9 and 10. “Wertz” dwarf trees produce summer-harvest avocados, usually in alternate years.

Propagation

Grafting avocado trees is not easy, but you can grow plants from seeds. The California Avocado commission suggests planting avocado seeds in small pots. Wash the seeds and place them halfway in a small, water-filled dish. Keep seeds warm, moist and out of direct sunlight. Roots and stems should sprout within a few weeks. As roots thicken, place the seedlings in humus-based soil. Water as needed but do not let the soil get too wet. Place the plant near a sunny window. Avocado trees planted from seeds take five to 15 years before they flower and fruit. Planting seeds from specific varieties, such as “Hass,” will not produce identical fruits from that hybrid and taste and texture will differ from the parent plant.

About the Author

Teri Silver began a career in 1984 as a news, sports and feature writer/reporter, anchor, editor, producer and program host for central Ohio radio and television stations. She has done work for stations including WTVN, WMNI and WOSU (NPR). Silver has a Bachelor of Arts in journalism with an English minor from The Ohio State University.

Photo Credits

Have Feedback?

Thank you for providing feedback to our Editorial staff on this article. Please fill in the following information so we can alert the Home Guides editorial team about a factual or typographical error in this story. All Fields are required.